Current Affairs Quiz-September, 2020

Notes:
As per the credit rating agency CRISIL, Indian economy will contract by 9 per cent in 2020-21 on account of COVID 19 pandemic.
The agency has stated that the infection is yet to peak and the financial assistance provided by the Government is not sufficient. Earlier in May 2020, Crisil had estimated the economy to contract by 5 per cent

Notes:
Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar virtually addressed the inaugural session of the intra-Afghan talks, being held in Doha.
Earlier this week, the Minister had visited Iran and discussed the Chabahar port project and the situation in Afghanistan. The Defence Minister also met his counterpart in Iran. India had earlier attended the signing of the US-Taliban pact on February 29.

Notes:
The Government of India has released a sum of Rs.6,195 crore to 14 states as Revenue Deficit Grant. This is as per the recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission.
Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttarakhand and West Bengal are the 14 states to receive the grant from centre.

Notes:
The Union Ministry of Road Transport has notified regulations for upgrading emission & safety features in Indian automobiles.
The Ministry has also issued draft notifications for anti-lock braking systems (ABS), airbags, reverse parking assist and crash standards for Indian vehicles. The Ministry has stated that there are plans to bring Indian automotive industry at par with developed nations in such regulations.

Notes:
Every year on September 14th, India celebrates “Hindi Diwas”(Hindi Day).
On Sep 14, 1949 Hindi became the official language of the nation. This decision was ratified by the Constitution on January 26, 1950. Hindi written in the Devanagari script has been adopted as the official language Under Article 343 of the Indian Constitution.

Notes:
The Governor of the costal State of Louisiana, United States has declared a state of emergency on account of the tropical Storm Sally.
The storm is expected to strengthen to a hurricane and will weaken back to a tropical storm while moving inland over Louisiana.

Notes:
The new Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2020, introduced by the government empowers RBI to restructure Cooperative banks.
The bill was tabled on the first day of the Parliament’s Monsoon Session by the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The bill which came in the form of ordinance was earlier withdrawn. Under this amendment, the Reserve Bank of India can restructure distressed cooperative banks.

Notes:
World Ozone Day or ‘International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer’ is observed on September 16 all over the world.
Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer was adopted and signed by 28 countries, on 22 March 1985. The theme of this year is ‘Ozone for Life’. This year also marks the 35th year of the Vienna Convention and 35 years of global ozone layer protection.

Notes:
The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen delivered her first annual State of the European Union address.
During the address, she urged the EU members to build a stronger European health union. She also announced the creation of a new agency for biomedical advanced research and development (BARDA). She also proposed to convene a global health summit next year.

Notes:
The World Trade Organization (WTO) has ruled that tariff barriers (additional tariffs) imposed by USA in 2018 on Chinese goods is inconsistent with international trading norms.
This has come as a severe blow to the US administration. The ruling was pronounced by a 3-member panel of WTO, against the USD 200 billion in levies imposed by USA on a range of Chinese goods in 2018.